


The Cold Crown

by Alexis_Tenshi



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Lewis Snart's A+ Parenting, M/M, Magic, Metahuman Leonard Snart, Pansexual Character, Possessive Behavior, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 20:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexis_Tenshi/pseuds/Alexis_Tenshi
Summary: Leonard Snart tried to be a fair king, if not good. He was long past good, he thought. He didn’t want to be like his father. But he wasn’t sure if he would know if he was. Anyone that he would have trusted to stand up to him was gone.Until one wasn't.





	The Cold Crown

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this cover. ](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/winged_kame/695039/65291/65291_original.jpg) The scene didn’t actually happen in the book, btw.
> 
>  
> 
>  Both Barry and Len are dark-ish at points here, but not that dark. If this were real life, the relationship would be unhealthy. But in the context of this fictional universe, it’s quite healthy for them. So I didn’t tag either.
> 
> Slight spoiler: It might seem like Barry is dead for a portion of this. He isn’t. I’d never do that, especially without tagging. That is one tag I do have a hard line for.

Lewis Snart was a terrible king. He was a worse father. It took Leonard a long time to realize this. Too long. He’d been a child and Lewis the only father he knew. His mother had died young, and then Lisa’s mother soon after his little sister’s birth. The aides tasked with helping raise them had been too afraid to speak ill of their father. But none of that was any excuse. Len should have realized sooner. He knew that.

If he had, he could have taken his father by surprise and ended him before this. Len’s powers were developing quickly as he aged. He wasn’t yet fully an adult and he could already control the cold better than his father.

He could have killed his father, taken his cold crown, and been done with it. He could have saved himself and Lisa years of pain. He might not have been ready to rule the kingdom, but he couldn’t have been worse at it than his father was. But it was too late for that now.

Lewis was not a smart man. But he was devious and merciless. Len would do anything for Lisa, and Lewis knew that. Lisa was still small, still innocent, still helpless. Lewis knew he could use Lisa to control Len, no matter how powerful Len was becoming. And so he did.

Len listened, because even as smart as he was, he saw no other alternative. He couldn’t lose Lisa. He couldn’t fail her again. He should have killed Lewis quickly, but it was too late for that now.

There was a rebellion growing in the kingdom. It was led by a hero with the power of extraordinary speed. Lewis feared and hated him. The king sent Len after this hero, this scarlet speedster, and Len had no choice but to obey. Lisa would suffer, likely die, if he didn’t.

So Len fought the man they called the Flash. It wasn’t an easy battle, but in the end Len won. Len froze the speedster in a block of ice. With their hero defeated, the rebellion quieted.

His father praised him, for possibly the first time ever. Instead of pride, Len felt sick at hearing the words. But what choice did he have but to listen? He couldn’t risk Lisa. Not for anything. Not even for one as good and courageous as Len had found the Flash to be.

Lewis put the frozen Flash behind his throne. The man encased in ice served as a kind of horrific trophy and a warning to any that dared defy him. It never got warm in the throne room. The ice would never melt.

Sometimes, when Len was alone in that room and staring at the form forever frozen, he whispered, “I’m sorry, Barry.”

\-------------------------------------------

A decade later, Lisa had grown up. She hadn’t inherited cold powers, but Len thought it might be better that way. The things he’d done in their father’s name, using his powers, haunted Len. With no powers, Lisa wasn’t useful that way to Lewis.

Lewis set about marrying her off. Len encouraged it, no matter how it enraged Lisa. Let Lewis think Len was on his side now. Get Lisa away from them both. It would be better that way, no matter how much it broke Len’s cold heart to see Lisa look at him with hate in her eyes.

Still, Len couldn’t let Lisa be married to just any king that Lewis deemed a good possible ally. Len had to know she’d be safe. He had to know she’d be well treated and have a chance at happiness. Lisa eventually found out Len’s true intentions and no longer looked at him with hate. But she never quite forgave him, either.

He didn’t blame her. But he couldn’t let her stay. He couldn’t let her try to fight their father. Only once she was away, out of Lewis’ reach, could Len show his hand.

In the end, it was agreed that Lisa would marry a mechanical mage named Cisco Ramon. He was a prince of a small portion of the larger kingdom ruled by his family. But he was powerful and made strong weapons that he agreed to gift to Lewis after the wedding.

Cisco seemed to adore Lisa, but more importantly he respected her. Lisa was fond of him and saw herself as able to fall in love with him, in given time. She agreed to the match, so Len did as well. She also agreed to make sure that the weapons shipment got delayed as long as possible.

Len had one guard he trusted. He sent Mick with Lisa, no matter how much he protested. Len hated to lose him, but he needed to know Lisa would be protected. He needed someone there to send messages safely back to him. No one suspected Mick had brains enough to be a spy.

Mick was the closest person Len had to a friend, and he sent him away. Len knew it was only partly to protect Lisa. It was partly because he wanted Mick safely away, too. And partly because he didn’t want Mick there to watch Len kill his own father.

He didn’t want Mick there for the additional killing that would doubtlessly be needed to maintain power after Lewis’ death. Mick would have helped, happily. But Len wanted a better life for his friend than that. This was Len’s royal bloodline. This was his burden alone to shoulder.

Mick had his eye on the handmaiden that Cisco assigned to Lisa. Mick might find happiness with Caitlin. Len was beginning to believe there was no happiness to be found in this cold kingdom he was destined to rule. But he couldn’t run away and abandon it, either. It was his birthright and responsibility.

\-------------------------------------

Len plotted and planned for months. He considered every possibility. He ran contingency after contingency in his head. But in the end, it was easy. Almost too easy. Lewis died by Len’s icy hands around his throat. Len wanted to feel relief. But all he felt was cold. The crown felt heavy on his head.

Lewis’ followers tried to challenge Len for the throne. He killed them all, too. It was almost too easy, too. With his powers ever increasing, it was easier and easier to kill. It was easier and easier to let himself feel cold, and nothing else.

Len tried to be a fair king, if not good. He was long past good, he thought. People knew what he’d done in his father’s name. They wouldn’t forget. They feared him. That was inevitable. He was cold. But he tried to be fair. He tried to rule by laws that resembled justice as closely as he could make them.

 He didn’t know if that was enough. He didn’t want to be like his father. But he wasn’t sure if he would know if he was. Anyone that he would have trusted to stand up to him was gone. The people that did stand up to him were just as corrupt as Lewis had been.

Lisa was gone. Mick was gone. They were better off. They seemed happy in their letters. They liked the warm weather in Cisco’s kingdom. It was never warm in the cold kingdom.

The trip between kingdoms was far. They visited once or twice a year, for awhile. Once Lisa had kids, and then Caitlin had kids, they visited even less. Len couldn’t blame them. The trip was hard, especially for children.

Time passed. Years passed. A decade passed. Len was lonely. Len was bored. Len wondered if he deserved to be either. Len was beginning to suspect his cold powers were strong enough to delay his aging. He didn’t know if he deserved that either.

Len knew he couldn’t leave. Not just anyone could rule that kingdom. It had to be someone with enough natural cold powers to maintain the balance of the country. If he left without a suitable replacement, the entire place would become unlivable; freeze over completely. The people living there with no place else to go would all die. That was what had put his family on the throne in the first place, generations ago. Len invited other cold users to meet him, but none were remotely suitable to rule.

Len invited dignitaries from other kingdoms to visit, too. In hopes someone would spark some interest inside himself. Most were boring. Some were appealing, for awhile. But none held his attention for long. Some he had to kill. He still didn’t like killing and worried it came too easily for him, but at least now it was his choice to make. He could only hope his choices were better than his father’s.

\-----------------------------------

“You know he’s alive, don’t you?”

Len blinked in confusion at the mage standing before his throne. His mind leaped immediately to his father. Len still had nightmares about Lewis being alive; about Lewis coming back for him and Lisa, and taking bloody revenge. But Len knew his father was dead. He’d made sure of it.

“Who?” Len asked with a frown.

“The man in red, encased in ice behind you.”

Len froze, knowing shock showed on his face for a moment before he smoothed it over.

“I put him there.” Len growled. “Daring to presume I don’t know everything about everything in my kingdom is dangerous, Constantine.”

It wasn’t a lie. This mage could tell when someone lied, Len had heard. But it wasn’t the full truth either.

The frozen Flash had become like part of the throne room. Len barely even noticed him anymore. He had considered briefly, after his father was dead, burying the hero properly like he deserved. But somehow Len hadn’t been able to bring himself to move the block of ice holding the man. But Len hadn’t considered for even one second that Barry might still somehow be alive.

“Of course.” The mage scoffed. “Then you know how resilient he is. Then you don’t need me telling you that if you were to ever let that ice melt, he’d likely walk away as healthy as the day you froze him.”

Len’s heart stopped at this information. It was a somewhat pleasant reminder that it still beat. It hadn’t frozen solid from disuse. Suddenly Len’s life might just be interesting again.

\---------------------------------

Len waited until a few days after Constantine had left before changing anything. Len hadn’t survived this long, held onto his kingdom for so long, by rushing things. But for the first time in what felt like forever, Len _wanted_ to rush something!

It wasn’t easy to start a controlled fire in the throne room, but he managed it. He thought it would be safer than attempting to move the block of ice Barry was encased in and risk it somehow shattering. All entrances to the room were locked, then iced over. Len was alone with his frozen speedster. He watched as the ice around Barry slowly began to melt. Len felt his heart racing and forced himself to stay cold and calm.

Len had blankets and hot food and drink nearby. He didn’t know what else to do to help Barry’s recovery. Truthfully, he didn’t even know if the man was alive. Constantine could have been mistaken, or lying.

But Len had to try. This was a wrong that had stood for far too long. If there was even a chance at reviving the Flash, Len had to take it.

Len knew his intentions were far from completely noble, however. He was bored. He was lonely. He wanted someone that could challenge him. He wanted someone _worthy_ of challenging him. He wanted someone that would stand up to him, and for the right reasons. He wanted _Barry_ back.

Len hadn’t known the Flash for long. They’d only met a handful of times, and always as adversaries, before Len won and froze the speedster. But there had been something there. Len had felt it. That spark he’d been missing in his life for so long, he’d felt it when he fought Barry.

If Lewis hadn’t been dangling Lisa’s life on the line, Len never would have tried so hard to stop the speedster. Len would have taunted and teased, and had _fun_ with the Flash! He hoped there was still a chance for that now, somehow, against the odds.

Len waited, and hoped, and watched the ice melt.

\---------------------------------------

The Flash was alive! Len could hardly believe it, despite his hope. Barry’s skin was cold and waxy, his movements shaky, his eyes wide and wild. But he was alive!

He was awake, and standing up, and looking around. Len wasn’t sure if he was _seeing_ anything. But Barry refused to sit down; he shrugged off Len’s hand when he tried to guide him to rest. He did take the blanket, wrapping it around himself. He did take the food and drink. He ate, looking around as he did so. Barry’s eyes scanned his surroundings over and over, but he didn’t seem to be absorbing anything.

Len sat on the steps to his throne, waiting and watching Barry. Finally, Barry’s eyes came to rest on Len. Barry’s expression turned from one of blank confusion to wild anger faster than Len thought possible. Within the time it took Len to blink, Barry had him on the floor, pinned down under the speedster. A second later the cup and bowl Barry had been holding hit the ground, the pottery shattering noisily. The blanket that had been draped around Barry fluttered slowly to the floor to join the ruined dishware.

“Did you _know_?!?!” Barry screamed in Len’s face. “Did you know I was _alive_?! All that _time_ …did you _know_?! Did you know…did you know I was _conscious_?! Did you know I was stuck like that…frozen…unable to move…but I could see and hear everything…I could think….I could…I couldn’t sleep! I couldn’t close my eyes! I just stood there and looked and thought and….for years and years, I…I watched…I watched you kill your father! I watched you…I… _did you know?!_ ”

Len was horrified as he listened to Barry rant. He didn’t try to fight back. If that was true….if Barry had been conscious all those years….over 20 years now….that would have been pure torture. Torture that Len had had a hand in. Unknowingly, but that was no excuse. Len felt sick.

This was it, Len thought. He was going to die. Barry was going to kill him. He had every right. There was no defense for what’d been done to him. Barry was likely insane. No one could survive what he’d gone through and not go crazy.

It was as good a way to go as any, Len thought. Poetic justice, even. He wouldn’t try to stop Barry.

“I’m sorry, Barry.” Len whispered.

He wasn’t asking for forgiveness. He wasn’t asking for mercy. He knew he didn’t deserve either. But he _was_ sorry.

Barry’s eyes narrowed, he frowned, and he just stared down at Len for what felt like long minutes.

“You said that before, to me. You said that a lot. You said it when you froze me. You said it to me before, a lot. Why did you stop? You…you didn’t know. You thought I was dead.”

Barry sighed, his anger turning abruptly to sadness. Barry’s lips quivered and he looked like he might cry. Len wasn’t sure that was better. Anger Len could understand. Anger he was familiar with, he could accept. Sadness…he wasn’t sure what to do with.

“Are you sure about that?” Len taunted, just reacting; not thinking how foolish he was being; poking the bear. “I’m a liar, Barry. You know that.”

Barry shook his head, then laughed. It was a slightly maniacal laugh. The determined grin now on Barry’s face had a dangerous edge to it.

“I know you, Len.” Barry laughed again. “I’ve been watching you for years and years now! I can read you like a book. Well…maybe a torn apart book. It’s all scrambled up in my head. But it’s coming together. I’ll get it in order soon. I heal fast, and not just my body. I know you didn’t know. I knew that before. I just forgot for a minute. Being able to move again is weird. It makes me think weird things. But I know you, even if it takes me a minute to remember. I know you didn’t know.”

Len swallowed hard. His heart was racing. Barry was still sitting on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Barry’s hands were tightly wrapped around Len’s wrists. For the first time in what felt like forever, Len didn’t feel cold. He felt excited.

Barry kept staring down at him, scanning his face for something, or maybe just getting his own thoughts in order. Len didn’t know what to say or do. He had no plan for this. It was an exhilarating feeling. Barry’s grin had faded, and he tilted his head in childlike curiosity at Len.

“Why did you let me go? What do you want from me? Do you want to play with me, Lenny?”

“Yeah…I…you could…you could put it like that.” Len admitted. “I’ve been wanting a challenge. I’ve been wanting someone to challenge _me_. But someone I _respect_. Someone I know isn’t going to actually harm my kingdom. Someone that has the people’s best interests at heart.”

To be honest, Len wasn’t sure that was still Barry. He wasn’t sure Barry had the senses or inclination anymore to leave innocents out of a fight. But Len had opened this box. He couldn’t just close it again. So he might as well be honest with what he wanted.

“No collateral damage then? No killing? Just me and you; me against you; you against me. Like it should have always been. You promise?” Barry asked.

Len smiled at that. Maybe Barry was still himself then. Maybe he hadn’t gone completely mad, though by all rights he should have. Or maybe Barry was two breaths away from snapping and this was just the calm before the storm. Len didn’t know.  But this was one way to find out. And maybe they’d both have some fun along the way.

“Ok, Barry, it’s a deal. I promise.” Len agreed.

Barry grinned widely. It still wasn’t exactly a sane looking smile. But it didn’t seem malicious either. Len’s smile back was shaky, but it was there.

“Ok, Lenny. See you soon.”

Then Barry was gone. Len watched the lightning trail of the departing speedster. Len had no idea what he’d just gotten himself into. But he doubted he was going to be bored again anytime soon.

\---------------------------------

It lasted a year, the game of cat and mouse between Len and Barry. Or more accurately, cat and cat. Neither was them was very mouse-like. True to his word, Len didn’t get anyone else involved. He ordered his guards and soldiers to not interfere. Barry, likewise, never recruited anyone to his cause. Though Len knew there would have been plenty willing among his people.

Len had tried to be a fair king, but his father’s shadow still loomed over everything he did. Plenty of people hated him, justified or not. They still remembered the Flash. They would have rallied behind him, if Barry had let them. But he didn’t.

Len didn’t know where Barry spent his time when they weren’t fighting. He hadn’t been able to find the speedster’s hideout, though he’d tried. Their fights lasted a few hours, every few days. Otherwise, the two didn’t meet.

So Len and Barry played. King Cold and the Flash fought. One had the upper hand, then the other did. It was fun, and exciting, and Len felt flush with life. He hadn’t felt truly cold in a long time. But he knew it couldn’t last forever. Eventually, one of them would win, and then where would they be?

They taunted and teased each other, but they hadn’t really talked since the game began. Not that Len really minded. But he was curious to know more about Barry, outside of their game. What did Barry want beyond this fight? As far as Len could tell, Barry hadn’t been interacting with anyone else in the kingdom. Did Barry want more in his life than this game? Len just had to wait for the right opportunity to find out.

Len hadn’t realized it’d been a year until Barry ended their latest encounter by tying Len to his own throne. The speedster had wrapped steel chains around Len faster than he’d been able to shoot cold from his hands into Barry’s path. Len struggled in his bindings, trying to angle his fingers to freeze the chains.

“Not gonna work, Lenny!” Barry sing-song taunted him. “Its special steel I made myself. Freeze proof.

“Happy Anniversary! I win!”

Len blinked, taking a few seconds to catch up with Barry’s meaning. He smiled, despite his predicament, when he understood. He trusted Barry, even though he still wasn’t entirely sure the speedster was wholly sane. Barry had kept his word, all throughout their game. No one had been hurt. Barry’s brain clearly worked well enough to develop freeze-proof steel in his spare time. Len was impressed. But that was nothing new in regards to Barry.

“Happy Anniversary, Barry. Congratulations, you got me. Now what are you going to do with me?”

“Not sure yet.” Barry grinned and tilted his head at Len. “Depends on your answer.

“I could put you in a steel cage. I made one for you. I could hang it from the ceiling here and keep you there while I took the throne for myself. I’d  make sure you keep the kingdom balanced so it doesn’t freeze, but not let you out. That’d be fair, after what you did to me. You’d look really pretty that way, like a bird with clipped wings. _Mine_.”

Len’s stomach flipped. It wasn’t fear. There didn’t exist a cage that Len couldn’t escape from eventually, powers proof or not. No, fear wasn’t what Len felt. It was something else. He wasn’t sure what it was. He’d never felt something quite like it before.

Len had faced challengers for his throne before, dozens of them. But none had ever wanted to keep Len around. They’d all had plans in place to dispose of him, other cold users to replace him. That Barry wanted to _keep_ Len…that was…that was exciting…something _more_ than exciting, but Len wasn’t quite sure what.

But he’d underestimated Barry, clearly. He would never have guessed he’d been planning anything like this.

Len wasn’t sure what his own expression looked like, but it sent Barry laughing hysterically. Len took the time to go over what Barry had just said in his head. He was ready once the speedster quieted and looked at him expectantly again.

“Ok. What’s the question then, Barry?”

Barry beamed at Len, as if proud Len had caught on to this new game.

“Will you marry me, Len?”

“ _What?!”_ Len sputtered, totally at a loss, well and truly shocked.

“Will you marry me?” Barry repeated. “We could rule together. You’re a good king, Len. I know you don’t believe that about yourself. But it’s true. I see it. I’ve been looking a long time.

“But together, we could do even better. I understand things you don’t. I don’t have an evil father’s legacy as king looming over me. I grew up as a peasant here. I understand the people. They’ll trust me. We could work together and make this kingdom _amazing_.

“We could be amazing _together_. I’ve wanted to have sex with you since way back when you were trying to kill me for your father. I know you’re attracted to me too, even if you haven’t admitted it to yourself yet.

“You’re emotionally and sexually stunted a bit, because of how you were raised. I get that. But I’ve been courting you for a year, so I think it’s high time I stated my intentions. We can take it as slow as you need, as far as the admitting of feelings and having sex goes. But I’d want the wedding to be no later than three months from now.”

Len felt a bit dizzy. It took him quite awhile to get his thoughts together. But Barry just waited patiently, watching him.

Len didn’t think a threat, followed by a wedding proposal, was romantic to most people. But then, it was true he’d never understood romance. This was blackmail, Len supposed. But it didn’t _feel_ like it, to him. Len felt flattered, and charmed, and truly unafraid of either option. This was _Barry_.

Barry, who had played with Len for a year. Who had stayed strictly to his word. Who had never involved anyone else. Who was clever, and skilled, and fearless. Who was the challenge, the spark, that Len had been missing for so long.

In the end, Len realized how easy the choice was.

“Yes.”

Barry’s wide grin in response looked completely sane, and completely delighted. After that, Barry kissed him. Their lips connecting felt like sparks were exploding in Len’s mouth. How had he not considered this was something he wanted, needed, before?

Truthfully, Len had never had much use for kissing before. Len was no innocent. He liked sex fine. He had his choice of partners, in his position. But his interest in having them was only slightly greater than taking care of his physical pleasure himself. He forgot them all as soon as the act was done.

Barry, however, was someone Len would never forget. He wasn’t someone Len had considered wanting sex with before. But then, Len never really felt compelled toward any particular sexual partner. Sex was an act that brought a pleasurable release; the physical packages involved never much concerned Len. He’d never been really attracted to anyone before the physical acts started and got his body interested. He’d never gotten aroused by just looking at someone, or talking to them, before.

Was _that_ what that had been? That curl in his stomach before, when he realized Barry wanted to keep him. Had that been arousal?

Len felt something similar now, as Barry kissed him. The sparks between them. A warm, eager weight in Len’s stomach. An insistent itch to squirm in his bindings, even though he knew they wouldn’t loosen. Was this how other people experienced lust? Was this romance?

“I see you’re figuring it out, already.” Barry smirked, and lightly tapped Len’s forehead with a finger. “You’ve always been smart.”

Len didn’t argue; just stretched forward as much as he could to initiate more kisses.

Eventually, Barry unchained him.

“Did you really make me a cage?” Len asked, narrowing his eyes at the speedster.

“I did.” Barry laughed. “I can show it to you later, if you want. Though I much prefer this outcome than putting you in it.

“I also made you this.”

Barry pulled a ring from his pocket. It was silver, with small blue gem chips all along the band. Len let him slide it onto his finger. He looked at it for a moment there, sparkling on his hand. Then Len grabbed Barry’s neck and resumed kissing him.

\----------------------------------

Lisa and Mick and their families made it to the wedding. Len appreciated it. It was long past the time that they could be close again, but that was as much Len’s fault as theirs. He knew that. He didn’t regret sending them away. But he was glad they were there, too. It was a nice gesture.

Barry had no living family of his own. But the entire kingdom’s people celebrated their union, as Barry had known they would.

It was a beautiful ceremony, the throne room draped in their new royal symbol; a union of ice and lighting. They ate, and danced, and sang. It was a good day, though honestly Len much preferred the night following.

Len and Barry had their first time together on their wedding night. Their meeting and courtship had been anything but traditional. So they might as well adhere to tradition in at least one way, they’d agreed.

Len had gotten pleasure from sex before. But it had never meant anything much to him. He could take it or leave it. With Barry sex was as amazing as Barry himself…Len was _never_ leaving him; he knew that for certain, as they lay together in the huge royal bed catching their breath afterward. And he never did.

Len and Barry ruled together for over a century. The kingdom prospered. When it was time to move on, they found a successor they could trust with the power to maintain the kingdom in their absence.

Not aging felt like a gift, with Barry by Len’s side. They had an entire world to explore yet, together. And after that, they had some theories about a multiverse out there waiting to be opened to them.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't given up on my current ColdFlash wip, no worries! It's been hard to get back to it, but I will get there! In the meantime, this wanted to be written, so hope you enjoyed! I have another one shot, that is entirely different from this, coming soon too! 
> 
> My tumblr is [@slimysuckers](http://slimysuckers.tumblr.com/)


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